New Report from Smithers Pira reveals Heidelberg Presses are most productive in the industry and produce the lowest cost per sheet. Heidelberg India backs report findings.
Smithers Pira’s newest report – “Real production capability of pre-owned sheetfed litho presses” – analyzes the impression count of almost 450 pre-owned sheetfed litho presses under 10 years old from five different manufacturers. Averaged across all platform sizes, the report finds that Heidelberg presses are 24.1% more productive than all other manufacturers’ machines when comparing the overall impression count of all machines in all formats. In the case of the Speedmaster XL 105/106, the press is 66% more productive than all the competitive machines. Smithers Pira costing model showed 11% lower production costs per 1,000 sheets.
“When we studied the data available online for the used equipment market, we started truly understanding the reality of how much more productive Heidelberg equipment is versus our competitors,” said Global Head of Marketing, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Andy Rae. “But to have the data verified by a respected organization such as Smithers Pira, it now shows the whole industry the astounding proof of Heidelberg productivity.”
The Proof is in the Productivity
“Even with a 25% purchase price premium, Heidelberg machines only need to produce 8.75% more to justify the price difference versus our competitors’ machines as shown by the PIA White Papers. This report proves that we far and away exceed that!” – Andy Rae
The study analyzes the output of B1, B2, and B3 machines – with a primary focus on the two larger format sizes. For all B2 (29”) presses, Heidelberg’s average annual impression count is 68.5% higher than the machines from the other four manufacturers. Across all B1 (40-41”) formats, Heidelberg presses (Speedmaster CD 102 and Speedmaster XL 105/106) are an average of 36% more productive.
When comparing the average production costs of Heidelberg B1 presses to competitive equipment, both the XL 105/106 and CD 102 formats were more cost effective in producing 1,000 sheets. Heidelberg’s entry level B1 press, the Speedmaster CD 102, even outperformed the “highest specification” competitive model in terms of lower production costs.
“What this study proves is that buying a new press from another manufacturer, regardless of purchase price, means that you will be paying a higher cost per sheet,” said Rae. “Even with a 25% purchase price premium, Heidelberg machines only need to produce 8.75% more to justify the price difference versus our competitors’ machines as shown by the PIA White Papers. This report proves that we far and away exceed that!”
To conclude, Smithers Pira states, “This additional productivity provides a significant competitive advantage to Heidelberg machines…the analysis shows that the profit opportunity for Heidelberg machines is significantly higher than for the competitive models.”
Heidelberg India backs Smithers Pira finding of its used presses
Heidelberg’s India arm has backed the findings of the Smithers Pira Report, which has graded the productivity of used sheetfed presses produce higher volumes of print annually than competitor machines.
According to Klaus Nielsen, managing director at Heidelberg India, the survey used 450 used presses of different brands and format size coming to market for sales on a worldwide basis to assess the annual number of impressions they produce. “Our customers sell printed sheets, to make their margins so it’s a great indicator of real-life productivity.”
The report was commissioned by Heidelberg, as the company wanted an independent third party to verify the findings, it had done. The company tracked data for last two years which verifies the findings of Smithers Pira.
The report used the total impression the presses had and divided that by the age to get the number of impressions/year. However, there are at least two important variables the report does not mention: shifts, and run-length.
Nielsen explained, “Of course one can argue there are many factors influencing the impression count of a printing press, but if the surveyed population is sufficient, the statistical variances will be averaged out.”
He added, “The fact remains that the difference in output of printed sheet found in the Pira study between Heidelberg and other brands is so significant it can only be explained by the differences in technology. Printing machines are no different from most other products, where there is also a very clear link between price and performance and this study is just a confirmation of what we have been telling our customers for years.”
Press manufacturers generally talk about increased productivity, but its profit that matters. The survey showed that the CD 102 outperforms all of the competition, and therefore provides the lowest cost per sheet in the capacity requirement segment of 30 million sheets per year.
Nielsen said, “Two things here, if you buy a machine buy the one that best fits the capacity need you have, and ensure it has the lowest production cost per sheet, as that’s what a printer add their margin to, to make a profit. It also shows that, on paper, machines are made to look equal, but they perform very differently in a real production environment, and that the real production capability is what you are paying for.”
But does buying a close to ten-year-old Heidelberg press with the kind of productivity it has, make sense? What about the wear and tear?
“No,” said Nielsen. “It suggests that the capability to keep performing at a high output level comes down to the base build quality and the software that drives it. Based on the findings the second best option to a new Heidelberg is a used one as it will still outperform a new competitive machine. Obviously, if well maintained it will continue to perform.”
Heidelberg said, it has hundreds of pre-owned machines in India, and with key print companies in India, but did not reveal the name.
Heidelberg most recent high-end new machine installation was at Edelmann, which installed India’s first 12-unit Heidelberg.
